Just this week we launched another new 4G wireless Internet service: this one offers you a convenient high-speed alternative to DSL or cable Internet access at home.

EarthLink 4G Wireless Internet At Home lets you enjoy a super-fast wireless Internet connection all around your home – on up to 8 Wi-Fi enabled computers and other devices – without the hassles of setting up a home network.

Wireless Internet speeds are comparable to DSL (up to 6Mbps). But unlike DSL, you don’t need an active home phone line – so our 4G Internet At Home service is perfect if you want to start using only your cell phone and eliminate your home phone bill.

4G Internet service starts at just $29.94 a month and cancelling your home phone service can save an average of about $20 a month ($12.72 for a basic calling plan, plus all additional fees and surcharges). In that scenario, you can enjoy wireless Internet access at home for only about $10 more than you’re paying now (check your own home phone bill because you could save even more).

Our wireless high-speed Internet access is powered by an easy-to-use 4G home modem that you can set up in minutes. You don’t even need to add a Wi-Fi router to set up a home network. There will be a one-time charge for the modem at sign-up but you’ll avoid the monthly rental fees that can really add up over time with some high-speed services.

The 4G modem supports 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi and can let your whole family surf the Internet simultaneously. You can, for example, connect from your home office desktop PC while your spouse connects from a laptop on the couch and the kids connect on tablets and Internet-enabled game consoles all around the house. WPA2, WPA and WEP Wi-Fi security is supported to a secure your home network.

You’ll have a choice of two 4G Internet At Home plans. Our Standard plan offers you Internet speed up to 3Mbps and 5GB of monthly data for $29.95 a month. Our Premium plan offers you Internet speed up to 6Mbps and 10GB of monthly data for $49.95 a month. (All other service features and benefits are the same.) Click on either of the How much is this? links to see a chart showing you how much you can do online with 5GB and 10GB of data per month. There are no contracts or commitments required for either wireless plan, so it’s easy to get started and see how much you like it (trust us, you will).

Both our 4G Wireless Internet At Home and 4G Wireless Internet On-the-Go services are available in over 80 cities across the U.S. Click the Coverage Map link to see a list of the cities. Enter your home phone number (if you have one) and home address, including zip code, and click Get Started to confirm that our 4G Internet At Home is available where you live.

But you might want to save yourself some time by confirming which of our high-speed Internet products are available where you live right from the homepage.

Simply fill out the very brief form in the box on the right-side of the page. It says Check Pricing & High Speed Availability. Here’s all you need to do:

Enter your home phone number (or click the checkbox if you don’t’ have a home phone).

Enter your street address (plus apartment number if you have one).

Enter your zip code.

Click the Show Me button.

After just a few seconds, you’ll see a page that shows you all the high-speed services and plans that you qualify for at your home. You’ll see pricing information as well.

If you know which high-speed Internet service you want, click the Buy link to go to checkout. Otherwise click a Learn More button to find out more about each available service.

Dial-Up Internet and Wireless 4G Internet

The availability check from the homepage that we just explained is primarily for our high-speed residential Internet services. But if both cable and DSL broadband are not available where you live, you will likely see EarthLink Dial-Up plans listed in the results. Dial-up access is available virtually everywhere in the U.S., as long as you have an active home phone line. If you decide to go with dial-up, you’ll also want to verify that one of our dial-up Internet access numbers is a local call for you. We have thousands of them, so that’s likely to be true, but it’s best to be 100% sure.

Also, keep in mind that our high-speed availability check is only for residential services. If you interested in wireless, mobile high-speed Internet access, check out our 4G Internet On-the-Go service. Click the See Coverage Map button to check availability of this service. You’ll see all cities listed with service, and you can enter an address or zip code to confirm more local availability.

DSL has long been the high-speed Internet service associated with phone service. That’s because, traditionally, DSL Internet access could only be delivered over an active phone line. If you “cut the cord” and went without phone service at home, you’d have to turn to cable or satellite Internet for broadband.

But EarthLink has for many years also offered a different kind of high-speed DSL with no phone required. It’s called…

Dry Loop? Naked? We’ll Go with Freestanding DSL.

We call our no-phone-DSL service Freestanding DSL because it stands free, apart from any phone service. This type of DSL Internet service is sometimes called dry loop DSL, naked DSL, or standalone DSL. (But since none of those terms are well known or understood, we decided not to go with “dry,” “naked” or “alone” for our DSL service.)

Freestanding DSL is just as fast (offering Internet connections up to 7Mbps) and just as reliable as regular high-speed DSL Internet service. So, if you don’t have an active home phone line, it’s a great broadband alternative. And if you docurrently have home phone service and you qualify for Freestanding DSL, you can cancel your home phone service (using only your cell phone) and save money each month.

No Phone = Big SavingsCancelling home phone service typically saves consumers an average of $240 a year (based on an average basic calling plan, plus all the additional taxes and surcharges you have to pay). If you have more than the most basic home phone plan, you save even more. This money-saving feature makes Freestanding DSL the DSL of choice for the cell-phone-only crowd.

Where You Can Get Freestanding DSL

If you want to go without a landline phone, EarthLink Freestanding DSL sounds almost too good to be true, right? But it’s for real. The only “catch” is that it’s not as widely available as regular DSL Internet service.

It is available nationwide, but only in areas where Verizon is the local telephone company. If you know Verizon is in your area, you should be good to go. If you are unsure, simply enter your home address and zip code in the Check Availability box on our Freestanding DSL page to see if your location qualifies (a home phone number isn’t required to check availability, but you can enter it if you do still have a home phone). Even if you don’t qualify for Freestanding DSL, you’ll see other high-speed services that are available for you, such as Cable Internet (which also doesn’t need a home phone line).

When to Cancel Your Phone Service

If your location qualifies for Freestanding DSL and you still have your phone line active, it’s best to disconnect your phone service before you place your order for Freestanding DSL. Installation will be easier if phone service is disconnected before you order Freestanding DSL. So call your phone company as soon as you can.

Other Differences Between Freestanding and Regular DSL

As we noted above, in most ways Freestanding DSL is just like regular DSL Internet access – without the phone service, of course.

One minor, positive difference is that with Freestanding DSL you do not need to install phone line filters around your house as you do with regular DSL (if you do get a self-installation kit with filters you can disregard them and skip any set-up instructions mentioning filters).

Another is that Freestanding DSL does not interfere with home alarm systems the way regular DSL services sometimes do. Because Freestanding DSL is a dedicated line with no phone service on it, it should not affect your home alarm service and your alarm service should not affect your DSL.

Installing Freestanding DSL

You can quickly and easily install Freestanding DSL using the self-installation kit and free DSL modem we send you. You can install the modem anywhere in your home that you have a phone jack (as long as there is no active phone service on the line). If you want to use your DSL Internet access in a room that does not have a phone jack, you’ll need to install the modem in a different room (with a phone jack) and then install a wireless router so you can use your high-speed Internet connection in any room over Wi-Fi. EarthLink Home Networking comes with a free Wi-Fi router and everything else you need.

If you are one of our Freestanding DSL customers already, let us know how you like it by leaving a comment below.

And you can all weigh in on the question of what we should have named the service: freestanding DSL, dry loop DSL, naked DSL, or standalone DSL?

Cable Internet access is more than just extremely fast. It’s also an extremely reliable way to connect to the Internet.

But connection issues do occasionally come up. The good news? Often you can quickly and easily troubleshoot and resolve the issue by looking at the cable Internet modem lights.

So, if you ever have problems connecting to the Internet, take a look at the cable modem lights and follow these recommendations.

Cable Modem Connection Light is Out

If the light on the front of your cable modem that indicates your cable connection (it may be labeled Status, Online or Cable) is out or blinking, you will be unable to connect to the Internet.

To re-establish your Internet connection, first make sure that the coaxial cable is firmly connected to the back of your modem.

If the cable is properly connected to your modem and the light is still out, try to reset the modem.

To reset your cable modem, press and hold the Reset button for five seconds. If your modem does not have a Reset button, you will need to power cycle (turn off, then on) your modem. See the complete steps for power cycling your modem below.

Cable Modem Power Light is Out

If your modem’s power light is off, make sure that the modem is securely plugged in. Your cable modem should be plugged in and powered on 24 hours a day.

If the modem appears to be securely plugged in and the power indicator light is still out, test the outlet or power strip your modem is using by plugging something else in. You can also plug the modem into another outlet and/or power strip that you know is in good working condition.

If you have confirmed that your outlet and/or power strip are working and the cable is securely connected to the modem, but the power indicator is still off, a service call may be required. Try power cycling your modem (using the steps below) before you contact Technical Support.

Cable Modem PC Light is Out

If the light on the back of your computer (next to the Ethernet cable connection) and/or the light labeled PC on your cable modem is out while your computer is on and your operating system loaded, your network card may not be functioning correctly.

To troubleshoot your cable modem connection, try the following:

Confirm that the Ethernet cable (which looks like a slightly enlarged phone cord) is securely plugged into both the cable modem and to the back of your computer. If the cable looks securely plugged in and the light on the back of your computer or your cable modem is still out, try unplugging the cable and plugging it back in to the back of the computer first and then the back of the cable modem.

Try running the diagnostic program that came with your network card, if available.

Reset your cable modem by pressing the reset button for five seconds or power cycle your modem using the steps below.

Shut down and then restart your computer.

If the above still does not solve the problem, please contact Technical Support.

Cable Modem Light is Blinking

If you are having problems receiving email or browsing the Web, you should verify that your cable Internet modem is successfully communicating with the broadband network.

Depending upon the type of modem you are using, the cable Internet connection indicator light on the front of your modem may be labeled as Status, Online or Cable.

If that light is blinking, you may need to reset your cable modem by pressing the Reset button for five seconds. If your modem does not have a Reset button, you will need to power cycle (turn off, then on) your modem (see detailed steps below).

If, after one or two minutes, the connection light on your cable modem continues to blink, a Technical Service call may be required.

Cable Modem Light is Orange

If the light on your cable modem labeled Status is orange, you will be unable to connect to the Internet. To re-establish your connection:

Make sure that the coaxial cable is firmly connected to the back of your modem.

If the light is still orange, try to reset your cable modem. To do so, unplug the modem and leave it unplugged for one minute.

Plug the modem back in, and wait one or two minutes for it regain connection.

If the light does not turn green, a Technical Service call may be required.

How to Power Cycle Your Cable Internet Modem

Windows Users

Make sure the coaxial cable is plugged securely into your cable modem.

Unplug the cable modem from the power source.

Leave the modem unplugged for two minutes.

Plug the cable modem directly into the wall outlet.

Wait for the modem to regain block sync (this usually takes just one minute or less but may take up to five minutes).

When your cable modem lights are illuminated and steady, try visiting at least two websites.

If the lights on your cable modem are correctly illuminated but you can’t get on the Web, run winipcfg or ipconfig, verify that you have obtained a valid IP address and try release/renew.

Try once more to access a couple of websites.

If you still can’t connect to the Web, shut down your computer and turn off the power by pushing the On/Off button on your computer.

Restore the power and turn your computer back on.

Try connecting to the Web again.

If your cable lights are properly illuminated and the steps above have failed to restore your connection, you will need to call Technical Support.

Mac Users

Make sure the coaxial cable is plugged securely into your cable modem.

Unplug the cable modem from the power source.

Leave the modem unplugged for two minutes.

Shut down the computer and turn it off.

Plug the cable modem directly into the wall outlet.

Wait for the modem to regain block sync (this usually takes just one minute or less but may take up to five minutes).

Check the lights on your modem to ensure the cable lights are steady.

If the lights are illuminated, try visiting various Web sites.

If your cable lights are properly illuminated and the steps above have failed to restore your connection, you will need to call Technical Support.